How does top speed matter? Does anyone actually do it? If so, where? On a drag strip you don't. At a track you don't. On the street you don't. For the life of me... other than bragging... I have NEVER understood top speed as a meaningful stat.

Guys, he's just kidding. It's hard to detect the sarcasm, but he's cracking a joke about all the haters that say dumb things like, "It's heavier so it's a complete failure," or, "only 25HP more, so it's a complete failure."

You better be really sure your tires are properly inflated VS the temperature of the air and track. I think one of the major magazines stopped top speed testing when one of their writers died. Things go badly quickly at high speeds.

I would have believed joeC5 did it on a track as he described. Im sorry to hear he was embellishing...I enjoy the fact that these cars are capable of exotic car performance and top speed...

I said very clearly in my post that I would be first in line with $500 for the opportunity to drive my Z06 at it's GM claimed top speed of 198 MPH on the 8 mile oval track in Ohio if 100 people would get together and rent the track for a day..

Now you tell me what I embellished.

I did pay $450 for the opportunity to drive my Z06 on the Daytona International Speedway but a Z06 can't reach the GM claimed speed of 198 MPH on that 2.5 mile oval.

How much have you paid to have the opportunity run your C6 at high speed on a Super Speedway? There are highways that lead to the tracks, so it's not necessary for you to live next door to them. I live 560 miles from Talladega and 1115 miles from Daytona Beach.

Even when top supposed top speeds are posted it will take a perfect storm to get there. Better yet has anyone on this forum taken a bone stock car to the suggested top speed of said vehicle? I know I haven't and I've tried.

ZR1 didn't need the perfect storm, been done numerous times from those who are brave enough, unlike the GT500 which failed again and again and again....

You better be really sure your tires are properly inflated VS the temperature of the air and track. I think one of the major magazines stopped top speed testing when one of their writers died. Things go badly quickly at high speeds.

Watching a complete 24 hrs of Le Mans made me think twice with all its safety car interventions for petty things like oil on the track. Yup, what if I hit some oily patch?? Yikes.

The one mile run is not top speed. I would estimate it would take 5 miles or so to top out a stock Corvette. Now a motorcycle, that's a bit different. I could run my bike up to nearly top speed in a stretch of less than two miles. Tough to find a straight stretch long enough, and without possibility of farmers pulling out, to run a car up to top speed. So when we talk about why nobody does it, it's not just about bravery. Very few people have a location that would provide an opportunity to even try.

You won't hit top speed at the mile as you don't have the room. I honestly don't know how much space you'd need, but I will tell you that at 185 mph real estate disappears pretty quickly, and incremental mph gains are tougher to get (i.e. they happen more slowly). So it might very well take a good 4 miles to top one out.

As to gearing, you never see 6th gear in the factory stock vettes at the mile. And depending on the model, you wouldn't use it for top speed. For example the Z tops out in 5th as 6th is too tall of overdrive to use, but the ZRs with the original gear set (in later years was optional gear set) top out in 6th gear.

Yes, it takes quite a distance. Try it and you'll see. It does not take a real long time, but as you can imagine you burn up distance fast at 180mph. Even if it only takes one minute to pull the last few miles per hour, you've already traveled 3 miles! Those who only take their cars up to 160 seem to think that the acceleration will stay constant, but it slows considerably as you reach the top end, and can take quite a while to eeek out those last few miles per hour.

To attain top speed in a C6, you'll only use 5th gear. 6th is too high and you would never pull the shift. The C7 should be the same since everything I hear indicates 7th is just another overdrive over 6th.

Seems most of the mile runs the vettes never get outta 5th gear, is it really goin to take 4 more miles to redline 6th?

The C6 ZR1 is the only one which requires 6th gear to reach its top speed. All other six speed Vettes before it do their top end speeds in fifth....sixth is just a highway gear. Good for loafing along the interstate at low engine rpms once up to speed.

Seems most of the mile runs the vettes never get outta 5th gear, is it really goin to take 4 more miles to redline 6th?

Except for the ZR1, all C6's(M6) reach their terminal speed in 5th gear(and still have some engine RPMs left, but they run out of horsepower).

My Z06 runs out of horsepower at 198 MPH(according to GM) and it will reach that speed at approximately 6100 RPM in 5th gear. The Z06 still has another 1,000 RPM before it hits it's rev limiter. That's equal to 230 MPH in 5th gear. If you shift the Z06 into 6th gear at 198 MPH, the car's speed will decrease, as the engine's 4300 RPM is so low, and the gearing is working against you, that there is not enough torque at the rear wheels to keep the car up to speed it reached in 5th gear.

Once I shift into 5th gear at 6800 RPM (to make sure I don't hit the rev limiter) at 158 MPH, it takes a long time and distance to keep accelerating.

If I had the ZR1's .81:1 5th gear in my Z06 I would still reach the same terminal speed (198 MPH at 6900 RPM) in 5th gear but I would reach it in a shorter distance.